A fan finds his way to cover during a heavy downpour at Fenway Park last night about 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. See Sports, Page B1

The Providence Journal / Bob Breidenbach

Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts will be wringing themselves out in a warm sun on Monday — after Tropical Storm Kyle has brushed by and a predicted six inches of rain has fallen.

That’s the way weather forecasters see it, as the nearly nonstop rain that began yesterday was expected to continue falling overnight and all the way through to Monday morning. Tonight, Kyle is expected to pass close by Nantucket and Cape Cod, bringing gusty winds and heavy rains. The storm’s path will greatly affect its impact on the region.

A gale warning and a flood watch had mariners and owners of low-lying property taking precautions yesterday and sponsors of athletic and other events either trimming their sails or canceling. With winds gusting up to 40 knots in the morning, service was halted on the Block Island Ferry.

A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service means that there is a potential for flooding and that people should monitor drains and small streams for overflows. Some roads may become impassable in the places that chronically flood.

It was all quite a contrast to the same date a year ago yesterday, when a record high temperature of 89 degrees was set.

In Burrillville, town officials yesterday held an emergency meeting, concerned about their dams. Town workers have been tasked to regularly measure the heights of bodies of water such as Wallum Lake, although that was among several lakes that had been partially drained in preparation for winter.

Johnston Department of Public Works employees sandbagged along Dyerville Avenue to protect a low-lying area, and DPW director Makram H. Megalli said he would have a weekend crew on duty to grapple with any problems that crop up.

Areas where flooding has occurred in the past include Harrison Street; locations close to the Pocasset River, off LaFazia Drive and South Bennett Drive; and Elmgrove Avenue, near the Smithfield town line.

The state is building a retention pond that would ease the usual flooding along Atwood Avenue.

Among the events that fell victim to the weather and a potentially choppy Providence River are tonight’s scheduled WaterFire in downtown Providence, which has been reduced from a full display to a partial display. A small lighting of the WaterFire braziers near the Rhode Island School of Design has been set for 7 p.m. and is to continue as long as the rain and river currents allow.

In a tent at Market Square near the bonfires, courtesy of RISD, refreshments and shelter are expected to be available.

RISD was plunging ahead with this morning’s scheduled grand-opening celebration of the Chace Center on South Main Street. The center is scheduled to open at 10 a.m. and admission is free. Visitors will be able to see the center’s inaugural exhibition, “Chihuly at RISD,” featuring the work of Dale Chihuly, a world-renowned glass artist.

There will be a full WaterFire a week from tonight, and special events that were linked to tonight’s display have been moved to that date. They include the ninth-annual Providence Rotary Street Painting Festival; the World Wide Day of Play activities, which include Frisbee and Hula-Hoop workshops and are associated with a campaign to fight childhood obesity; and the observance “A Thousand Ships,” intended to remember the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

In North Kingstown yesterday morning, the police reported four motor-vehicle accidents, including one mishap attributed to hydroplaning. And work was stopped on a new entrance to the police and fire stations.

The weekend’s 24-hour Soccerfest in town was postponed to Oct. 5 and 6. And today’s scheduled Autumn Faire, sponsored by South County Museum, was canceled except for the apple-pie contest.

A weekend charity event in downtown Providence to benefit Ronald McDonald House near Hasbro Children’s Hospital also has been canceled. It was the Oyster Festival at Hemenway’s seafood restaurant.

— With Journal and projo.com staff reports.

gsmith@projo.com